Mom Central Blog Tour: Cranergy Energy Juice Drink

Hey, how are you? It's been a while. I have had some ups and downs with my ankle. Looks like it will be several weeks in a walking boot, then a visit to a few doctors in Boston during May and June to see if I can get the same diagnosis twice. One of the diagnoses floating around is PTTD, a degenerative disorder requiring major surgery and possibly involving both feet. Fun times!

One bright spot this week was an opportunity to sample Ocean Spray's new energy juice drink, Cranergy. I like cranberry juice, but not the stuff that's full of high fructose corn syrup, and even the 100 percent cranberry juice is a bit cloying for me. So I don't buy it regularly.

I'm also not usually an "energy drink" fan, per se. Oftentimes energy drinks are full of caffeine or different herbs that I'm not sure I want to consume and that I certainly don't want my kids drinking. At least not before I consult with an herbalist, like that's gonna happen.

We received Cranergy in the "cranberry lift" flavor, and I did enjoy it. A 12 ounce bottle has just 50 calories, thanks to Splenda. The energy part comes from some B vitamins (70 percent of your daily niacin, B12, B2, B6 and pantothenic acid), as well as some green tea extract. I imagine the green tea adds caffeine, however I've heard from health gurus such as Andrew Weil and Mehmet Oz that the caffeine in green tea is gentler on the body than the caffeine found in coffee. The only con that I can see is that they've added some coloring, Bue 1 and Red 40. That's a pet peeve of mine. But I'm no purist, so it's not a deal breaker for me.

So! I liked it. It is light, but doesn't taste watered down. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and usually I find Splenda-based drinks way too sweet. My six-year-old son liked it too. His review consisted of a long giggle before he exclaimed, "Love it!" It's a nice new option for fans of cranberry juice.

Like Mamma Mia!? Like Singing? This is THE CONTEST for you.

Mom Central has asked me to help spread the word about a new contest for fans of singing karaoke and winning lavish free trips to London.

Wait, let me start over. From the press release:

Pond's has partnered with the big screen remake of Mamma Mia!, staring Meryl Streep and coming to theaters this summer. Women 40 and older are invited to form a singing trio to perform their own take on the classics "Mamma Mia" or "Dancing Queen" and submit videos of their performances via the Pond's website, which also houses music and lyrics you can download to rehearse.

It's like American Idol for grown ups, but designed for amateur karaoke enthusiasts who just love the music from Mamma Mia! Add two friends and a digital camera recorder, and you're in business! The winners of the contest will win a lavish trip to London to live the life of three Dynamos at the world premiere of Mamma Mia! Check out the Pond's site for more information. The deadline for submissions is April 30th.

This is one contest that I won't enter, considering that I can't sing, am not yet 40 and have never seen Mamma Mia! But I know some of you are much more adventurous and talented than I am. And, um, older. Heh. Just kidding.

My only request is that if you enter, you must let me see the video. Good luck!

Roster of Successes

Last week I succeeded in:

• Taking physical therapy as far as it will go, realizing once and for all that it will not heal my ankle. My tendon has “issues” that stretching, strengthening and ice will not solve.

• Making the mental connection between my aunt’s Achilles tendon injury and my own, thus realizing that I may qualify for the new, knife-free treatment that she successfully underwent. It’s a painful needle but that’s better than a painful knife, right? She’s calling her podiatrist today to see if he can hook me up with the awesome,e trailblazing docs over at Tufts Medical Center. I have a good feeling about this. (If you're googling "tendon injuries" and want to know what I'm talking about, start at the Total Tendon site. They don't list anyone in the Boston area, which is why I'm having to go through my aunt, who had the procedure.)

• Annoying my foot/ankle doctor by asking too many questions and bringing up treatment options not on his menu.

• Finding some seated aerobics videos. I know, right?! And, ouch, my arms hurt.

• Cleaning the boys’ room so that it doesn’t have piles of books, toys, dust bunnies and various collected trash on the beds, flat surfaces, and every inch of floor. And it only took me about 1 ½ hours. Major victory.

• Launching my new self-improvement venture, in which I will eliminate all the complaining, criticizing and negativity that comes out of my mouth. I used to think I was a positive person but, boy, was I wrong. Until now.

MomCentral Blog Tour: Lice MD

I've only come into contact with lice one time in my life, so far. *knocking on wood*At about age 10, I was combing a younger relative's hair when I noticed these tiny, teardrop-shaped thingamajigs hanging from the strands.

My mom explained to me, later that day, that they were lice eggs. As a young girl with tight curly hair, she says she got lice sometimes as a kid. And her sisters would always get mad at her because of all they had to go through cleaning the sheets, picking out the nits, etc., etc. Given how hard it still is to deal with lice, even with all our modern conveniences, I shudder to think of what it was like back in the '40s and '50s.

I've looked at the various lice-eliminating products, and it appears that most, if not all, rely on pesticides. And let's face it, if we can avoid soaking our kid's head in pesticides, we should do it, right?

I have to concur with LiceMD's marketing material and say that it really is a breakthrough in lice treatment. Not only is it nontoxic, it is odorless, helps prevent re-infestation (now there's a word to give you goosebumps), and you can reapply it as needed.

Dealing with lice is hard enough as it is. Now we have one less worry to deal with when this ugly problem comes up. Finally, there is a nontoxic solution.

I will go ahead and give away my sample, even though I risk jinxing my family's bug-free heads by doing so. If you'd like to receive a 4-oz. package of LiceMD to have on hand just in case, leave me a message with your email address between now and Monday at midnight, EST. I will post a winner on Tuesday.

You Say 'Surgery' Like It's a Bad Thing

One morning last November, while doing some aerobics to a DVD, my inner left ankle started to ache like a sonofagun. Over the next few days, while I idiotically "worked through the pain," the area felt like I had stuck a patch of fire to it. I haven't done any cardio since. It swells and gets sore if I walk around a lot. It's like this burning, scratching feeling just under the skin.

I've spent a lot of time icing it, stretching it, taking anti-inflammatories, going to doctors, having diagnostic tests, going to physical therapy, going to acupuncture, going to a chiropractor, rubbing different linements on it, praying, researching online. My third orthopedic doctor diagnosed it as flexor hallicus longus (FHL) tendonitis.

Wednesday I went back to the foot and ankle doctor. Since six weeks of PT hasn't worked, he said the next step is surgery, with a four- to six-month recovery period. If I want to put off surgery and try one more thing, I can wear a hard walking cast for six weeks. There's a chance that if it really is FHL tendonitis, a cast will allow it to rest and heal. However, if the FHL tendon has tears in it -- which he believes it does but, since tears are not always detected by an MRI, it's anyone's guess -- then surgery is the only thing that will fix it. During surgery, the doctor will also release the tendon sheathe (the tendon is tight, despite stretching) and clean out the fluid that's on the tendon.

Surgery entails:

- Cutting into my ankle. This is not arthroscopic surgery, folks.
- No weight on the ankle for one month, perhaps less if there are no tears.
- Two to three months to return to normal activity, i.e., standing, walking.
- Four to six months to return to unrestricted activity, i.e., running across the beach to save Ava from a flock of seagulls.

It's funny the way my mind has been working the last few days. I've talked to the owner at my physical therapy place, a chiropractor, my mom and husband, and a few other friends and family members. One minute I'm like "Put the cast on!" The next, "Get this surgery over with!" And then, "PT can work! Give it more time!" Wednesday I scheduled a pre-op appointment for Friday. Friday morning I cancelled it and rescheduled for a week from Monday.

The thing is, I have been hyper-diligent in taking care of this ankle. The doctor said that's an indicator that it will require surgery to fix. Part of me feels like I should try the cast, but I did wear an air cast for 10 days and that made it worse. Things rubbing on the tendon really irritate it, like sneakers or, in the cast's case, fiberglass. I've been doing ice, stretching, applying special ointments and massaging trigger points to help it heal. If I have a cast, I won't be able to do any of that.

So, that's where I am: in Ankle Land. Trying to keep the household running and myself from gaining 50 pounds. Trying to make the right decision. Today I'm going to buy myself some new shoes and some cushion inserts. And some new fat, er, larger-sized pants.

One thing I've noticed is that when I mention to someone that I may have ankle surgery, they react with, um, some negativity. My other ankle started hurting this week, something I don't even want to make more real by saying out loud, so I went for a 1/2 hour massage of my calves and feet last night. The therapist went on about the problems that scar tissue from surgery cause. And really, that's not what I need to hear.

Surgery is a good thing, a blessing. It fixes problems in our bodies. I'm fortunate that it's an option for me. And I believe that God is working to heal my ankle right this very moment, and that it will heal completely. I'm not sure when, or what the road between here and there will look like. But it will happen.